


Those Who Fall To Fill Positions

by RagingBookDragon



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Jason Todd being a good brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22355890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RagingBookDragon/pseuds/RagingBookDragon
Summary: Some time after the eldest has passed, Jason finds that he must fill his shoes in order to comfort the youngest sibling.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	Those Who Fall To Fill Positions

**Author's Note:**

> There isn't enough brotherly bonding with Jason and Damian. I aim to fix it. This is from my Tumblr, 'RagingBookDragon'. I hope you enjoy! -Thorne <3

The apartment was quiet as he walked through it from his bedroom into the kitchen. Patrol had been completed hours earlier, something he attributed to the recent incarceration of most supervillains of Gotham back into Arkham. Jason stood in front of his opened refrigerator, eyes scanning the contents as he wondered about what he could make with them. He eyed the tomatoes sitting on the shelf and thought about spaghetti but decided against it as he didn’t have premade noodles and making fresh dough would take too long. He closed the doors to the refrigerator slightly, gaze drifting to the take-out menus stuck to them. As he juggled between Japanese and Thai, a scuffing sound from another room caught his attention.

Jason shut the doors quietly, moving to a drawer along the counter where he pulled it open, removing the handgun he’d stowed away into it. His feet made no sound as he edged along the wall, and the closer he got to the doorway, the more shuffling he heard. He paused at the opening, listening intently to whatever… _whoever_ …was making noise. Soft curses came from inside, and he leaned around enough to peek into the room; a small figured was bent over, picking up a lamp they’d knocked over, and Jason stepped inside, gun raised and ready. He thumbed the hammer, cocking it back, watching the figure stiffen and turn slightly. At first glance, Jason lowered his gun, confusion entering his voice as he asked, _“Damian? Is that you?”_ The boy stood up, adjusting the much too large hoodie he had on; Jason frowned at the sight, knowing exactly who the hoodie had belonged to. He sighed, placing the gun on the table before moving up to him. _“What are you doing here Damian?”_ The boy turned and Jason gasped as he saw his face covered in bruises, lip and left eyebrow split open, bleeding; he hopped over the coffee table, snatching the rag sitting on the side. He knelt, placing the rag against Damian’s bleeding lip _. “Shit kid. What happened to you?”_ Damian said nothing, hazel eyes following Jason’s teal ones; Jason paused, brushing a bit of the boy’s hair from his forehead, careful to avoid the darkening bruises scattered across his olive skin. _“Damian…are you…alright?”_ He could feel the boy’s jaw clench slightly, then he swallowed and whispered,

**_“…I didn’t know where else to go…”_** Jason’s eyebrows furrowed and he leaned closer, guiding Damian to the couch where he sat him down, still kneeling in front of him.

_“What are you talking about kid? What happened to you? You look like you got into a fight with some gangbangers?”_ Damian reached up, taking the cloth from Jason, holding it tighter to his busted lip.

**_“You should see what I did to them.”_** At that, Jason’s eyebrows shot up and he questioned,

_“You were fighting outside uniform?”_ Damian nodded and he sighed. _“You’re not supposed to fight outside uni., Damian. It’s dangerous. Someone could’ve seen you.”_ Damian’s eyes narrowed and he bit out,

**_“They didn’t.”_**

_“It doesn’t matter if they didn’t Damian. They could’ve.”_ He gestured to his younger brother, taking in his appearance. _“What are you doing fighting thugs at two A.M.?”_ Shrugging shoulders seemed to be all the response he was going to get, and he sighed again, rising from the floor; he pointed at Damian, muttering, _“Stay here and don’t move.”_ Jason left him sitting on the couch, returning moments later with a fresh sweatshirt; he walked over, setting it down beside him before motioning to the one he was wearing. _“Take that off and give it to me.”_ Damian shook his head, and Jason rolled his eyes, reaching for the hem. _“Do it or I’ll do it for you.”_ His fingers barely brushed the hem, and Damian recoiled from him as if he’d been slapped, shouting,

**_“Don’t touch it!”_** Jason dropped his hand, the anger beginning to simmer within his reason.

_“Kid, it’s covered in blood and dirt. Let me have it so I can wash it.”_ He pointed to the one next to him. _“You can wear that while it’s in the washer.”_ Damian shook his head once more, and Jason dropped his head into his hands, massaging his temples. _“Damian, this doesn’t have to be as hard as you’re making it man. Just give me the sweatshirt.”_ His brother shook his head again, and Jason inhaled sharply through his nose, grumbling quietly, _“Why are you even wearing it anyway?”_ The response he received was so soft, he barely heard it.

**_“…It was his favorite sweatshirt…”_** Jason raised his head, realization crossing his vision as he watched tears pour down olive cheeks; his face fell and he muttered,

_“Oh, shit kid-I-I’m sorry.”_ Damian shook his head, dropping the rag as he raised his hands, rubbing furiously at his face. Jason didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t need to, the words already tumbling from Damian’s lips.

**_“I didn’t get to say goodbye…and now he’s gone…and I don’t…and I don’t…_** ” His lips wobbled, and he looked to his older brother, hazel eyes wide with grief as he sobbed, **_“And I don’t know what to do!”_** His words dissolved into inconsolable wails, and Jason sat stunned; he’d never seen his brother cry, let alone bawl like this. After a moment, he stood and bent over, lifting Damian into his arms. The boy’s breath hiccupped, and he stuttered, **_“Wha-What are you doing?”_** Jason grunted, hoisting the boy higher.

_“Be quiet.”_ Damian began to wiggle in his arms and Jason threatened, _“I’ll drop you out the window if you don’t stop moving.”_ The boy obeyed, going still, and Jason carried him to the bathroom, plopping him on the sink. He turned, plugging the drain, then he turned the water on; he spun, leaving Damian, then returned with the former sweatshirt and a pair of basketball shorts. He sat them on the counter then moved back to the door and said, _“Come find me when you’re done.”_ He shut the door, leaving Damian to clean up.

**An Hour Later:**

Damian wandered the halls of Jason’s apartment, clutching the bloodied sweatshirt to his chest. Jason’s clothes were so much bigger than _his_ , the sweatshirt he wore edging just above his shins. He kept having to tug the tie of the basketball shorts tighter and higher as they kept falling down his waist. Eventually he came upon Jason sitting in his bedroom, a collection of books spread around him on the bed. Jason didn’t look at him as he called, _“Come ‘ere kid.”_ Damian followed his command, walking over to the side of the bed; Jason tipped his head to the side, holding up the sheet. _“Climb in.”_ Damian raised an eyebrow and quizzed,

**_“Why?”_** His brother rolled his eyes, shaking the sheet.

_“Because I said so. Climb. In.”_ Damian eyed him for a moment then did so, curling into Jason’s side. Jason gestured to the books around the bed. _“Which one catches your eye?”_ The boy glanced at them, then pointed to one; Jason picked it up and asked, _“Haven’t you already read this series?”_ Damian nodded and murmured,

**_“With him.”_** Jason inhaled and nodded, opening the book, the words flowing evenly from him. An hour or so later, the book had been cast aside, and Damian had curled up into Jason, Jason’s chin resting on his head as he rubbed his back. Damian broke the silence, whispering, **_“…I miss him…”_** Jason nodded, throat tightening as he muttered,

_“I do too kid…I do too.”_ Jason paused, then pulled away until he could look into Damian’s eyes. _“Look Damian…I’m not that good at the whole big brother thing…but…I’ve got you kid.”_ Damian blinked and returned to his original position, tucking his head under Jason’s chin. A moment passed, then Jason felt his shirt begin to dampen followed by a question that broke Jason’s heart.

**_“…Do you think Dick is proud of me?”_** Jason rested a hand along Damian’s head, thumb brushing along the side of his ear, and promised,

_“Kid…wherever Dick is now…I know he is.”_ Damian sniffed, hand brushing under his nose.

**_“He doesn’t hate me?”_**

_“No kid…he loved you more than the world…his baby brother…my, baby brother.”_ Damian didn’t respond for a few minutes, the shaking of his tiny body telling Jason that all he would’ve managed to even say would’ve been choppy sentences. Jason grinned slightly and murmured, _“I bet Dick snot all over his mom’s shoulder when he saw her again.”_ A quiet bubbling laugh broke rose in Damian’s throat and he replied,

**_“He probably snot all over his father too.”_** Jason chuckled, nodding his head.

_“Yeah…Dick was a boohooer wasn’t he?”_

_**“He snot all over my shoulder when I came back.”**_ Jason laughed again, remembering the scene.

_“Yeah and he wasted an entire box of tissues too…and he wasn’t even done then.”_ The two dissolved into laughter, and when they fell silent again, Jason murmured, _“Damian, I can’t replace Dick…and I don’t want to…but I’ll be there for you like he was…I promise you.”_ His younger brother was quiet, then whispered,

**_“Thank you ahkhi.”_** Jason smiled, pressing a kiss to his head, replying,

_“Always habibi.”_


End file.
